Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Anna Little on Immigration and the Arizona Governor

Highlands, NJ– Mayor Anna Little announced her support for Gov. Jan Brewer’s bold position on immigration in Arizona. She stands with the Governor and people of Arizona who declare that the federal government has failed to protect them from criminals coming into this country illegally.

“Section 287g of the Immigration and Nationality Act is evidence of the intention of the federal government to delegate responsibility to state and local officials for enforcement of immigration law. The Arizona state legislature merely followed the suggestion of the federal government in passing their own state legislation similar to provisions of 287g to assist in immigration enforcement,” said Mayor Little, who is an immigration attorney.

The March 27 shooting death of rancher Rob Krentz on his property in southeastern Arizona demonstrates that not all individuals who cross the border illegally are interested in becoming productive residents. This incident proves that there are violent criminals coming across our borders illegally.

Under Arizona's new law, immigrants unable to produce documents showing they are allowed to be in the country could be arrested and jailed for up to six months as well as fined $2,500. Arizona law enforcement officers could arrest people found to be undocumented and turn them over to federal immigration officers. This procedure is very similar to what section 287g of the Immigration and Nationality Act already permits.

Yuk Wong, a citizen of Hong Kong, residing legally in Hazlet says “I’m a minority and I don’t mind to show police my identification if it means that I will be safer, and my tax money won’t go to provide benefits for people who should not be here. I believe that everyone should go through the process of legal immigration. It cost me a lot of money and took many years to get my permanent residence status. Why should people come here illegally and get treated better than me? I love this country, and I respect its laws. I question whether people coming to this country illegally care about this country, because they obviously don’t respect its laws.”

Mayor Little stated, “A civilized society can live by only one rule of law, the written law. It is time the United States conformed government practice to the written law in immigration enforcement. Illegal immigration must be eradicated, and lawful immigration practices must be upheld as the only means of entry to the United States.”